#TJ Clark

[notsoterriblymisanthropic]

When writing about Trump, there’s a question of distance. He gives every sign of being an odious human being, and he flaunts the odiousness, knowing that it maddens his opponents and electrifies his cult. What he did as president last time, and what he promises to do next, will cause misery for millions of people. Isn’t writing obliged to answer the loathsomeness and cruelty with spleen? But isn’t that what Trump-fiction depends on? Go in close, grapple and smear, and one immediately feels Trump-fiction exulting in one’s distaste. He rides the late-night laughter. The things they say about me! His Arnold Palmer swells. Is the answer analysis, then? A cooler tone. Is it possible to treat Trump as a political – a historical – occurrence? A ‘formation’, as we used to call it. Supposing we take the whole form of politics and leadership described so far, including its ludicrous deficiencies and so far unanswerable strengths, as a phenomenon, an expression, of an empire in decline. In particular, of an empire whose immense superiority over its rivals in terms of military power, control of (most) dependencies, dictatorship of ‘innovation’, image of the good life, and sheer mind-boggling wealth, remains unquestioned, but depends now on an economic system that fails to satisfy its own ordinary middle (read, working) class.

TJ Clark, A Brief Guide to Trump and the Spectacle

[bruciemilf]

Actually, it would be incredibly funny if TJ ended up dating either Lois or Jimmy, verifying the “every Wayne needs their superfam member” theory as fact.

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Queer Book Ship Tournament 2025 Round 1

Rune Saint John/Addam Saint Nicholas- The Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards

Constansa/Magdalena/Alexi– A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

Luca Ancier/Touraine- The Unbroken by C. L. Clark

Linus Baker/Arthur Parnassus- The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

[jetslay]

Superman & Superwoman by TJ Frias.

[novelconcepts]

Another year, another absurd amount of books read (296, because if I wasn't reading or writing this year, my brain was on fire). I was asked again for my top books of the year, so here we go: 2023's top 10, in no particular order.

This was the first book I read of the year--literally, vacated the hangout with my wife and sibling-in-laws to sit on their couch upstairs and eat through it. Do you love The Fall of the House of Usher, but wish for a nonbinary protagonist and a lot more mushrooms? This is the book for you! (T. Kingfisher is fucking rad, I made a concerted effort to only list ONE of her books on here, but honorable mention goes to The Twisted Ones for fucking me upppp.)

A gay, post-apocolyptic Pinocchio retelling involving copious robots, found family elements, and a cool-ass treehouse. Klune always hits for me with his unrepentant queer family dynamics and sense of humor. Honorable mention to the first two in the Green Creek series (although that's got a lot more...adult elements in among the werewolves, you've been warned).

I thiiiink I found this through The Homo Schedule podcast (PSA: if you missed out on Jasmin Savoy Brown and Liv Hewson doing a podcast together, now you know better), and it wrecked my shit. Tons of trigger warnings, as this is a memoir about abuse within a queer relationship, but it's so beautifully written. I personally suggest listening to the audiobook first, then standing anxiously behind someone at a book warehouse sale, hoping they'll set down the only paperback copy so you can swipe it.

A fantastical-historical reimagining in which the KKK is filled with literal monsters, and Black women are resistance fighters armed to take them out. Visceral and intense, and truly an excellent horror story.

Just. Such a soft time travel story about a daughter and her father and cherishing the time you get with loved ones. I was thoroughly unprepared for how lovely I found this one. It's very kind.

Spooky house, take-no-shit redhead, protective sibling elements, bisexual recluse with a sword who really just needs a nap. I haven't found a Harrow book yet I haven't slapped five stars on. She's so good at character and atmosphere, and I'm always surprised at how fast her stories race by.

The whole Daevabad trilogy (of which this is the first book) is just magical. A girl from the mortal world finds herself embroiled with the centuries-long prejudices and wars of djinn in a fantastical city. It's one of the rare stories of its kind that does have a love triangle, but doesn't feel like a love triangle; it's far less interested in the insufferable "who gets picked" than it is in the actual horrors these people are both perpetrating and coping with. It's an intoxicating ride.

Fuck You, TERFS: the book. Given that fact, there's obviously quite a lot of transphobia to deal with, but it's very clear that those people are wrong, and it's a super-engaging (and super-oh-god-what-comes-next) witchy time populated with queer, protective, interesting characters I'm excited to see again in the follow-up.

Have you ever wanted a haunted house story with visceral imagery and a rather lovely twist? Gailey has you covered. As much as I enjoyed The Echo Wife, I think I actually loved this one more, and it makes me so excited to see what else they've got up their sleeve.

One of my final reads for the year, when I was just churning through hardcovers at the speed of sound. I love this book. I recognize it won't be for everyone, but it takes so much of what I love about IT (one of my all-time favorite books, despite its flaws) and twists it through the lens of an author who escaped the Mormon church. It's horrific, it's fantastically abstract in places, it explores childhood and memory, imagination and abuse, and almost every character is queer. It's a great "I simply cannot sleep until I've finished" read.

[joearlikelikeswrestling]

[mothras-in-my-belly]

Just finished reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and I loved it so so much!! Just absolutely beautiful in every sense of the word, definitely recommend checking it out!

However, that also means that I've (mostly) caught up with my reading (everything else on my TBR shelves calls for a different mood) and I need to figure out what to read next asap.

So, obviously, something similar to Piranesi would be ideal - mood, plot, setting, the overall vibe, I guess? Little to no romance would be preferable, though I do enjoy some queer rep.

Some other books I've read and really enjoyed are The Starless Sea, Circe, The Song of Achilles, The Secret History, Vita Nostra, If we were villains, Bunny, The Ocean at the end of the Lane, Klara and the Sun, The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Witches of Vardø. Probably a whole lot more, but these are just from the top of my head.

So yeah, I would be so so so grateful for any recommendations from any of yall!! 🙏🙏 Thanks!!

[vino---delectable]

Why is everyone on this show so attractive.... Like.... EVERYONE???

[regaliasonata]

Boy/Girl parents for each Red Ranger

Jason: Both

Rocky: Girl Dad

Tommy: Both

TJ: Girl Dad

Andros: Girl Dad

Leo: Both

Carter: Both

Wes: Boy Dad

Eric: Girl Dad

Cole: Boy Dad

Shane: Girl Dad

Conner: Both

Jack: Girl Dad

Nick: Boy Dad

Mack: Both

Casey: Gay Kids

Scott: Boy Dad

Jayden: Boy Dad

Lauren: Girl Mom

Troy: Girl Dad

Tyler: Girl Dad

Brody: Boy Dad

Mick: Both

Devon: Boy Dad

Zayto: Girl Dad

Amelia: Girl Mom

[noahsbookhoard]

📚August 2024 Book Review (Part 4/4)📚

And that wraps it up for August! It had been a busy month but I loved the variety (although I could have lived without learning about Ignatius Reilly)

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

The misadventures of Ignatis Reilly, a lazy misanthropic man forced to work for the first time in his life in 60's New Orleans, from the Levy's Pant factory to hotdogs selling in the streets, around incompetent policemen, anticommunist elderly men, more or less dubious barkeeper and the gay community.

I haven't chosen to read this book, it was this month's book club blind draw. I probably would have read it ever if it wasn't for this and jury is still out on whether or not I would be happier not having read it or not. The book isn't even that bad! It just has the worst protagonist in the history of Literature.

The story itself is a satire of the US in the 60's, characters are archetypes turned into comedy by their meeting clashing personalities: the black man in need of a job and the barkeeper who wants to appear running a proper business but needs to sell explicit pictures on the side, the half blind half deaf already a little senile employee of Levy's factory about whom M. Levy and his wife keep arguing to see if she should retire or not... There's some sitcom comedy trope with an assortment of subplots opened but never closed as the story goes until one event makes everything fall back together in one perfectly geared sequence. This was good, this was funny, I wish this could have worked with Ignatius Reilly.

Sincerely the biggest reproach I can make to this book is its main character. Problem is said character is there nearly all the time and being an unsufferable 30 year old toddler who never ever face the consequences of his actions. Just thinking about Ignatius fucking Reilly makes me itchy. He is dirty, lazy, a liar, a hypocrit, self centered and just downright unpleasant. The most uncomfortable part of the novel were the articles written by Ignatius about hi experience as a worker because they are a concentrate of everything wrong with him with absolutely no critical perspective whatsoever. He is a racist that tried setting an insurrection by the black worker at the factory, he is a homophobe that tried to create a political party with the gay community of New Orleans...

I didn't even get the satisfaction of him getting, I don't know, run over by a cable car, punch in the nose by one of his former boss, kicked out of the house by his mom (or multiple of that I wouldn't mind) he just run away with his former girlfriend who is just as terrible on the opposite end of the scale.

It's a classic so I'm happy to have read it. But I won't be doing it again, thank you very much.

How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P Djeli Clark

A mysterious ad in the papers caught the eyes of Trevor: an offer for a kit that allows you to raise your own mythical creature at home. It might be his chance for a grand achievement! But careful what you wish for...

This is the short story that won the Locus 2024 and my first meeting with author P Djeli Clark which I wanted to read for quite some times. I have in the meantime already read Ring Shout and I'm really thinking of putting Master of Djinn higher on the TBR, I have a new author added to the favorites!

This short stoey is wickedly efficient, either in characterisation or in worldbuilding. Trevor is brushed in two strokes as ambitious (That's literaly the first word of the story) but not a hard worker and unable to think longterm about his decisions. The addition of merpeople in the story is seamless: I never question how they got here, we were just in a fantasy uchronia now, okay, carry on.

The foreshadowing works really well too: the main character is too clueless to click it but the reader does and waiting for the other shoes to drop is really satisfying.

I don't want to say too much, but the twist at the end still managed to surprise me. I was expecting something but not that, and yet it felt like I should have. It painted the entire story in a new light for the last half page or so, I love it.

If you want to read it it's on the Uncanny Magazine website. It's a quick read but it's worth the time!

Rendez-vous avec la mort (An Appointment with Death) by Agatha Christie

From his hotel room in Jerusalem Hercule Poirot hears a disturbing conversation "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" The detective doesn't think much of it until the tyrannical Mrs Boyton, on vacation with her family, is found dead in the ancient city of Petra.

What is it with Agatha Christie and making her victim absolutely awful people? Is it so there would be more suspects? Is it so they reader is more willing to distance himself and play the Whodunnit Game? Anyway!

You can really tell that this novel was written based on Agatha Christie's memories of visiting the place, it felt very alive,very realistic and more picturesque than her other novels. The setting is always important of course but here it's almost a decor.

There was so many suspects and they all had a very good reason to want Mrs Boyton dead (or to protect the one who did it) this investigation was very intricate and the plot pulls the reader in many different directions. It's a good thing Poirot takes notes in the book or I would have done it myself.

For once I had caught the Important Detail That Gives You The Answer TM but I took it totally in the wrong direction! So I had a theory that was (or so I thought) rather solid but I was misled by a detail. Maybe I missed it but the reveal includes one key information that I can't remember seeing anywhere; it is the only link between two characters and the only thing that makes the motive makes sense so I was a bit surprised by who the culprit was. Or maybe that's just me being a sore lover because once again Christie bested me.

The only thing I really disliked about this one - and it's wierd that it's even there - is the epilogue. There is so rarely an epilogue in her novels that I'm wondering if Christie wasn't pressure to add this Happily Ever After. It is very awkward because it is almost to good to be true, every one is married to another character even when the pairing doesn't make sense and everything is just perfectly fine for all of them. Not to mention the young schizophrenic daughter married to her acting agent who is twice her age because that's not creepy at all! /s I don't know what the intention was but it just flops very hard after what is a really nice book, that's a shame really.

Fortunately it is nothing but an epilogue, and van easily be discarded as just and after thought and I will keep deluding myself in thinking that the novel ends after Poirot's dramatic reveal of the culprit, as usual.

Under the Whispering Door by T J Klune

Wallace is having a hard time accepting that he just died, he barely lived the life he had! So when a reaper comes to bring him to a teashop and to Hugo, a Ferryman tasked to help souls pass to the afterlife, Wallace will have to make the best of what little time he has left in the land of the living.

After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea every other novel by T J Klune were just begging to be read. I stalled as long as I could bear so here I am!

There is kind of a similar structure between the two books (the main character is very professional and cold but learns to open up, Hugo and Arthur have pretty much the same patient, observing and enigmatic personality. Even Charon's Crossing and the foster house or a little similar, two secluded places, meant to be welcoming and homely, yet totally unfamiliar and scary at times for the protagonist) but it never really bothered me: I liked how comfortable it felt to find it all back in this novel.

Through exploring other people's fate, how they lived, how they died, how they went through this time after death but before passing over, Wallace changes and learns to be a better person. The story itself isn't intricate but it is cozy, funny and the life lesson put through the author's word is more than just a feel-good novel line. The main subject, grief, is heavy but Klune handles it really gently, even in very hard moment, violent deaths and character who just can't accept their fate. And once again the love story, although it isn't the main focus is very important and drives the characters forward. It was sweet and nice and I really liked how bitter sweet it felt until the very end and they get the Happy End they deserved.

I read someone reviews saying that the ending was too much but hey, what's the point of writing stories if you can't make it all perfectly okay for everybody in the end? The dead don't come back in real life but if it makes the character of this story happy I absolutely want them to come back!

Aaaand that's close enough to a spoiler so I'll wrap if up: impeccably good read, go for it! Just be aware that it deals with grief and death, including violent deaths and suicide.

[notsoterriblymisanthropic]

The theory of social change on which propaganda by the deed was premised in its heyday, when McKinley and Sadi Carnot and Frick and the empress of Austria took a bullet, was both too pessimistic and optimistic. Resentment and anger existed in plenty around 1900. But the idea that a single symbolic gesture, or a campaign of such, could light disillusion’s touchpaper ... that was fantasy. For a symbol to set off a social implosion, what was needed was an apparatus – a means by which the symbol could spread, allowing people to interpret what had taken place, inviting them to voice their contempt for official outrage, annulling, regrouping, disobeying, opting out. How could such a contagion possibly happen in the age of the wall poster and the back street printing press? But the apparatus now exists. Capital has made it – to its profit and its cost. The spectacle has metastasised. It is everywhere, at everyone’s disposal.

TJ Clark, A Brief Guide to Trump and the Spectacle

[allthistrashtalkmakemeitchin]

TJ: I want your girlfriend Ronnie: Kendall: No way- TJ: No, no, no. Not her. TJ, pointing to Jo: Her. Kendall: Jo: Ronnie: What do you mean? She's not Kendall's girlfriend

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Gavin Livingstone- Green Creek Series by TJ Klune

Fatma el-Sha’arawi- A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Benji- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Kade Bronson- Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire

[thingy-wing]

Here I am once again speaking to the void.

I have no local book club anymore, and I just want to build myself a little community of book lovers with similar reading likes/dislikes! So here we go!

Hi all, I’m Mac (she/her)! I’m 23 and from western Canada! I’m currently working on my second university degree and as of December will be, officially, a teacher! I’m falling back in love with reading at the moment (I got to preoccupied with journals and research in my first degree for a lot of fun reading) and have been really enjoying rereading old favourites and asking those around me to read their new/old favourites!

Genres I like (and read most often)

- fantasy

- dystopia

- romance

- mystery (murder)

-historical

- horror (no particular subgenre as of yet)

Favourite books of all time?

- Taxidermists daughter, Kate Mosse

- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

- The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzzane Collins

- Piranessi, Susanna Clarke

- Horse, Geraldine Brooks

Favourite Books I have read in 2024

- Horse, Geraldine Brooks

- Everyone in my family has killed someone, Benjamin Stevenson

- Between two fires, Christopher Buehlman

- A certain Hunger, Chelsea G. Summers

Currently Reading:

- Wolfsong, Tj Klune

- The Cloisters, Katy Hays

- VenCo, Cherie Dimaline

I also read a lot of fan fiction which I am sure you will discover if you see my page!

[heartsoulrocknroll]

NJPW Windy City Riot 4/13/24

Minoru Suzuki vs. Ren Narita -- This starts with them throwing each other around into the barricades outside, then trading sleepers inside, which Suzuki gets the better of and refuses to break after Narita grabs the rope for 5. Narita lands his guillotine knee, then sets up a chair in the corner. Suzuki grabs the chair, the ref takes it away, and while the ref is distracted, Narita nails Suzuku with a board and lands his facebuster finisher for the pinfall.

Lol, this was fine for what it was. Not much to it. Rating: 2.5

Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. AZM for the NJPW Strong Women's Championship -- Vaquer with a nasty dragon screw. AZM with a nice round kick to the head on the apron, then a double stomp off the second rope to the outside, then a missile dropkick off the top inside! AZM covers for two, then transitions into an arm bar. AZM misses a double stomp off the top, Vaquer lands a dropkick, AZM lands a round kick to the head, Vaquer lands a back suplex! Elbows by AZM and headbutts by Vaquer! Vaquer grabs a smooth arm bar, then transitions into a choke with the arm trapped! Beautiful! AZM gets a foot on the rope. Snap suplex by Vaquer for two! AZM lands a superplex, then a double stomp off the top for two! Vaquer with Sole Food, AZM with La Mistica into an arm-trap pinning combo for two! Nice, that looked great!! Vaquer with headbutts and vicious running double knees in the corner! AZM escapes the package by Vaquer and runs the ropes, Vaquer nails her with a kick, AZM goes for La Mistica again, but Vaquer reverses and lands a double underhook package neckbreaker for the pinfall!!!

That rocked!!! Just fantastic, fast-paced action throughout with great counters and an awesome finishing stretch. Both of them were great here. I was very impressed. Rating: 4

El Phantasmo and Hikuleo (c) vs. TMDK vs. Tom Lawlor and Fred Rosser vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew for the NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship -- Lawlor and Rosser with a chicken wing and rear naked choke on TMDK, but Hikuleo breaks it up with a double clothesline, then lands a double chokeslam on Lawlor and Rosser. Hikuleo with a body slam on Nelson, then tags ELP, who sets up for Sudden Death, but gets pulled out of the ring. Stunner by Nelson on Hikuleo to send him outside, then a series of double teams by WCWC on ELP. Running double knees in the corner by Nelson, uppercut by Isaacs, Isaacs throws ELP into a pop-up powerbomb by Nelson, Nelson catapults ELP into a DVD by Isaacs onto Nelson's knees! Double cover by WCWC, but Lawlor breaks it up. Nice sequence there. Double discus elbows on Nelson by Lawlor and Rosser. They go for it again on Isaacs, but miss and hit each other. Lawlor with a knee strike to Isaacs. Nelson lands a dropkick on Lawlor. ELP comes from behind with Sudden Death on Nelson, then Hikuleo lands a chokeslam. ELP lands a topé to the outside, then comes back and lands an assisted somersault senton over ropes and over Hikuleo onto Nelson. But Haste makes the blind tag on ELP in the process. ELP goes for a cover on Nelson, but Haste comes in, throws him off, and gets a jackknife on Nelson for the pinfall.

This was a very solid match that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected to. They did a good job with the four-way tag dynamic, which often doesn't work. Fast-paced action, good double team maneuvers. Good stuff from all involved. Wish TMDK had been more involved in the match before getting the win out of nowhere. Rating: 3.25

WCWC attack Lawlor and Rosser after the match. They cut Lawlor's hair and feed it to Rosser. Wtf.

Shota Umino vs. Jack Perry -- Perry enters with guards with armored vests and shields. Lmao. The crowd is so unbelievably loud!!! The crowd sings cry me a river chants. Nice. Perry slaps Umino in the face, then rolls outside like a little bitch! Nice. Umino follows and rolls him back in. Perry with a facelock, then a snap suplex for two! Running uppercut in the corner and a gorgeous fisherman suplex by Umino for two! Umino with a drop toe hold into the ropes, then a nice slingshot DDT over the ropes, planting Perry's face on the apron!!! Umino lands a dropkick off the top, then a nice release suplex. Umino goes for something, but Perry escapes, grabs the ref, lands a backward low blow to Umino, then drags Umino to the edge of the ring lands a draping DDT off the apron onto the floor!!! Perry lands a double underhook powerbomb for two!! Perry spits in Umino's face! They trade elbows! Umino with an uppercut! Perry with an elbow to the top of the head! Umino with a beautiful dropkick and a reverse DDT for two! Umino lands a a knee strike and a corkscrew neckbreaker? for two!! Perry escapes a Death Rider attempt and lands a jumping poison rana, then a Killswitch for two!! Running knee strike by Perry! Umino kicks out at two! Perry lands the Punk running knee lift in the corner, then goes for the GTS and flips off the crowd, but Umino reverses into a DDT!!! Nice. Umino lands a beautiful, aggressive running corkscrew uppercut followed by Death Rider for the pinfall!

I really liked this match. The heat from the crowd puts it over the top, but it's great on its own, with Umino looking really great, and Perry holding his own very well. Good stuff. Rating: 3.75

Perry shakes Umino's hand and raises Umino's hand in victory after the match, which I thought was a really nice moment.

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mustafa Ali -- Hiromu enters with Daryl Jr, who has come back from his excursion with twelve pack abs. Hiromu waves in the faces of Ali's security detail at ringside, trying to get a reaction. Lmao. Commentary mentions that Ali is 25-0 in 2024. Ali's hometown crowd is fully behind Hiromu here with Takahashi chants to start the match.

They start the match running the ropes and trading nearfalls. Hiromu an fakes injury tags in Daryl, who he sits in the middle of the ring. Hiromu starts a Daryl chant. Hiromu finally comes back in, throws Daryl in Ali's face as a distraction, and lands a dropkick! Hiromu lands another sliding dropkick. Hiromu with chops to Ali in the ring, Ali rolls outside, but Hiromu follows with more chops! Ali runs around the ring. Hiromu follows and tries to slides under the ropes in the corner of the ring, but Ali catches him with a draping DDT off the apro, absolutely spiking Hiromu's face into the floor! Damn! Ali rolls Hiromu back inside, Ali wrenches back on Hiromu's neck and drives knees into Hiromu's back on the mat. Hiromu gets his foot on the rope to break. Ali lands a nice rolling neckbreaker into a nice cover for two. Ali the runs ropes and lands another nice neckbreaker for two! Ali props up Daryl in the corner and talks trash. He yells at Hiromu, "Suffed animals can't talk, you idiot." Lmao. Hiromu with a head scissors takedown, running lariat in the corner, then a running dropkick! Ali rolls out, but Hiromu follows with a running dropkick off the apron, sending Ali into the guard rail, then rolls Ali in for two! Ali escapes a corner DVD attempt, but Hiromu lands a falcon arrow for two! Ali lands two running corner dropkicks and goes for a third, but Hiromu cuits him off with a wild lariat! Ali lands a nice tornado DDT without the ropes for two!

Ali goes to the top, but Hiromu stops him with an elbow. Hiromu shoves Ali off the top, and Ali back flips off the top into the cameraman on the floor, but lands on his feet! Ali comes back immediately and shoves Hiromu off the apron into the guard rail outside, then lands an aggressive tope to Hiromu, sending both of them hard into the guard rail!! They take out Chris Charlton in the process. Lmao. Back inside, Ali misses a 450 off the top as Hiromu moves out of the way. Ali's head is busted open. He runs at Hiromu, who moves and shoves Ali hard into the corner! Hiromu puts Ali on the top. Ali lands a headbutt to take Hiromu down! Ali with a nasty sunset flip powerbomb!! Ali goes back to the top and lands a 450 for the pinfall!

Hiromu is funny with the Daryl nonsense, but this match relied on it a little too heavily. There were glimpses of Hiromu's usual, crazy, caution-to-the-wind self, but he never fully went there. But even when Hiromu isn't giving it 100%, he's still good. Ali looked very good as well. It was a fast-paced match, and there were some crazy spots. I expected more from these two, and I wanted this match to hit another level that it never really did, but I still liked it. Rating: 3.5

Ali offers Hiromu a handshake after the match, but Hiromu wants Ali to shake Daryl's hand. Ali is hesitant, but he finally gets Daryl, hands him to Hiromu, and shakes Daryl's hand. Lol.

Eddie Kingston, Homicide, Jeff Cobb, and TJP vs. Gabe Kidd, Kenta, David Finlay, and Clark Connors (No DQ Tornado Tag Match) -- This starts off with a lot of aimless wandering around the arena, with the camera going back and forth between the competitors. It finally picks up a little in the ring. TJP skateboards on Kenta's back lmao. Finlay lands a nice uranage backbreaker on TJP. Kidd with the Terry Funk airplane spinning ladder shots to everyone in the ring. Cobb comes into stop it with a German suplex with the ladder still around Kidd's neck. Connors spears Cobb, then wraps barbed wire around his head and headbutts TJP. TJP turns it around and uses his boot to drive the barbed wire into Connors' face, then lands running knee/kick in the corner. Homicide takes a fork to Connors' head. Kenta in with backfist to Homicide, then boots and running corner dropkicks to TJP. Kenta goes for G2S on Cobb, but can't get him up. Cobb lands lariat on Kenta. TJP misses off the top, and Kenta lands G2S on TJP. But Cobb takes Kenta out with running cross body. Finlay throws Cobb into barbed wire chair in corner. Kingston comes in with low blow and kendo stick shots to Finlay. Finally, Kingston and Kidd face off. They exchange hard chops. Kidd bites Kingston's head. Kingston lands exploder into table in corner. Kingston has barbed wire in hand, but gets taken down by Kidd's other team member. They choke Kingston with a steel chain. Homicide comes in to try to make the save, but eats a spike piledriver from Kidd. Kidd covers Homicide for three, while the others hold Kingston back.

I wasn't into this at all at the beginning, as it started with just a lot of wandering around the arena with no focus and nothing really happening. It picked up a little toward the end when they finally got in the ring, but it was certainly nothing special and kind of a waste of time. And way, way too long. I do have to say though, so happy to see TJP. Rating: 2

Kingston challenges Kidd to a no ropes, last man standing match at the next big show and says fuck a lot, because he is so ~~edgy~~.

Matt Riddle (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the NJPW World Television Championship -- The build for this is hilarious, as Zack has said that he has accomplished all he can with the TV title and is ready to chase the world heavyweight title. He doesn't even want this match, and has forced Riddle, the champion, to jump through hoops and beat the other members of TMDK just to get this chance to defend his own title against Zack. Beautiful stuff.

Nice mat start. Zack with an armbar, then he transitions into a knee bar. Riddle reverses the pressure and escapes. Zack ducks two kicks by Riddle. Riddle lands two gut-wrench suplexes without letting go. Riddle goes for a back senton, but Zack catches him in an armbar. Riddle gets to the ropes, but Zack just wrenches back even harder on the arm for five!!!! 😍 Zack slaps Riddle. Riddle responds with a big slap that takes Zack down. Riddle lands round kicks to the chest. Zack catches Riddle's foot and snaps back his toes!! Zack wrenches back on the foot, and stomps the foot into the mat. 😍 Beautiful snap vertical suplex by Zack. Zack grabs the foot again, wrenches back on the ankle, then ties up the legs and transitions into a bow and arrow.

Riddle with an overhand chop, then catches Zack in a hanging armbar in ropes for five. Riddle goes for a knee off the top, but Zack catches the ankle again and goes for an STF, but Riddle gets to the ropes. Riddle lands a German suplex into a bridge for two, then lands a back senton. Riddle misses a moonsault off the top, and Zack just dives into a triangle choke on Riddle, and lays in vicious elbows to the top of the head. 😍 Riddle deadlifts Zack up and powerbombs him to escape, then lands a nice knee strike to the jaw for two! Riddle with round kicks in the corner, then a running elbow shot. Riddle goes for another elbow, but Zack catches him with a tornado DDT, then smoothly rolls into a guillotine on the mat. 😍 Riddle powers up to his feet and goes for a suplex, but Zack reverses into a rear choke. Riddle escapes with a snapmare, then transitions into an armbar, but Zack escapes and grabs an armbar of his own.

Riddle tries to escape with elbows to the jaw, but Zack transitions into a triangle choke. Riddle deadlifts Zack and goes for a powerbomb, but Zack escapes and lands a Zack Driver for two! Zack goes for a PK, but Riddle catches it and grabs a single-leg crab. Zack lands a pele kick to the arm. Riddle lands a German suplex. Riddle lands the corkscrew senton off the top for two! Riddle with round kicks and overhand chops, but Zack catches his leg and lands an overhand chop of his own! Riddle lands a nice jumping knee! Riddle then lands the ripcord knee! Riddle goes for a Tombstone, but Zack counters into a victory roll, then into a Euro clutch pinning combo for two!!!!! Beautiful 😍. Zack lands a round kick to the chest, Riddle responds with a running, jumping knee! Riddle runs for another knee strike perhaps, but Zack stops him and catches him in a pinning combo for three!!!!!

Damn, what a match!!!!! Not to be that guy, but I am in love with Zack Sabre Jr. I cannot express how absolutely incredible he is every time he steps in a ring. Riddle was very good here as well. Great back and forth on the mat. Great use of strikes by Riddle, with Zack almost always using it to his advantage to bait Riddle into a hold. Awesome, violent joint manipulation by Zack. Just an incredible, well-constructed match. I loved every second. Rating: 4.25

Zack says his year didn't start off well. He had his sights set on the world heavyweight title. But he took his baby back. And he needs some industrial cleaner, because he doesn't trust the last champion. This is usually where he would open up the floor to challengers, but he can't be arsed, he's very tired, so he's going straight to the pub. But he will be defending the title in the US very soon, so cheerio, everyone, bye bye.

But here comes Jeff Cobb! He faces off with Zack in the ring. Zack yells, "Not today, I'm tired, we'll do it another time," and offers Cobb a handshake. Cobb accepts it. Zack tries to pull Cobb in for a Zack Driver, but Cobb reverses and picks up Zack. But Zack manages to escape to the outside. Zack asks, "Hawaiian Jeffrey, please, may I have my championship back? And I promise I will give you a championship match another time, just not today, because I'm tired." He compliments Cobb's hair and asks what conditioner he uses. Cobb hands the title back. Zack says thank you and leaves. Lmao. ZSJ, light of my life. Hilarious, great stuff here.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Nic Nemeth -- They trade chops. Nic stands toe to toe with Ishii. Ishii plows him with a shoulder tackle. Ishii with two hard chops that take Nic off his feet! Ishii lands a brainbuster for two. Nic with a dropkick and a series of elbow drops for two. Weird. Nic tries some elbows, but only one elbow from Ishii puts Nic down. Ishii lands a superplex. Ishii goes for a piledriver, but Nic escapes and locks in a sleeper. Ishii reverses with a sleeper of his own. Nic reverses with an Olympic Slam. Nic lands a DDT for two. Nic goes for a Fameasser, but Ishii catches him in midair with a powerbomb! Nic with a headbutt, then lands the Fameasser for two! Ishii takes Nic down with a lariat for two. Nic ducks a sliding lariat, but Ishii lands an enziguri, then lands the sliding lariat for two! Nic lands a headbutt, Ishii blocks a Danger Zone attempt, then Nic lands a superkick for 2.5! Nic lands a German suplex, but Ishii gets right back up. Ishii ducks another Danger Zone attempt, then Ishii lands a Danger Zone of his own!!! Nice! Ishii absolutely blasts Nic with a lariat!!!!! But Nic kicks out at one! Nic lands a superkick, but Ishii kicks out at one! They collide with lariats at the same time, then trade headbutts, then Ishii just NAILS Nic with a jumping cross body into a cover for two!! Nic escapes a brainbuster attempt, then lands a right hand, a superkick, and a Danger Zone for three!

Wow. I don't know what to say. I mean, I've historically been the world's biggest Ziggler hater, and a huge Ishii mark. So for me, this was a great match, but I attribute it mostly to how well Ishii can carry a match and make anyone look good. Nic held his own here, and it was a nice contrast of styles that managed to work a lot better than I thought it would. But I still think he stands out like a sore thumb in New Japan, and I hate him going over Ishii. Rating: 3.75

Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Jon Moxley for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship -- Naito takes his sweet time taking off, re-fastening, and taking back off his pants. Naito spits in Moxley's face, throws him outside, runs the ropes, and does the tranquilo pose in the ring. 😍😍 Moxley follows him outside with elbows, then throws him over the barricade, and smashes his head into the announce table. Naito throws Moxley into the barricade in the crowd, grabs a chair, and sits down to relax. Moxley takes him down with a boot to the face. Mox rolls Naito back in, steps on his throat, and lands a spike piledriver for two! Mox with alternating chest chops and round kicks to Naito's historically problematic knees. Naito with a sunset flip, but Mox rolls through into a Figure Four. Mox then transitions into a Texas Clovereaf, then into an STF. Naito gets to the ropes. Mox with multiple kicks to the chest, but Naito just sits back up! Naito catches the foot and rakes the eyes. 😍 Mox lands a brainbuster, then just chokes Naito on the mat. Mox comes off the top, but Naito catches him with a shot to the abdomen, then an enziguri. Naito with a rapid-fire sequence -- Manhattan drop, chop to the chest, and dropkick to the back! Naito goes for a combinación, and his leg gives out, but he follows up quickly with a beautiful neckbreaker for two, then quickly grabs a kravat! Mox gets to his feet, then dumps Naito over the ropes to the apron. They trade elbows to the face! Mox lands a DDT on the apron! Mox rolls in and does the Naito tranquilo pose to boos from the crowd. Nice.

Naito rolls in, and Mox immediately dumps him back outside and goes for topé suicida. But Naito is lying in wait, and nails Moxley as he dives out with a steel chair to the head!!! Geez! Naito lands a nasty neckbreaker on the apron!! Damn! Mox makes it back in at 19.5. Mox is bleeding from the head, what's new. Naito lands a nice tornado DDT off the ropes and sets up for Destino, but Mox stops it with a big lariat! They trade right hands and elbows in the middle of the ring! Naito laughs and spits in Mox's face. 😍😍 Mox spits back. Mox locks in a sleeper. Naito backs Mox hard into the corner to escape, but Mox follows up with a curb stomp to the head for two!!! Mox goes back to the sleeper with body scissors on the mat, then transitions to the bulldog choke. Naito gets to his feet, but Mox holds onto the sleeper. Naito drops down and escapes with a victory roll for two!! Naito with repeated, nasty elbows to the head and goes for Destino, but Mox escapes! Mox lands a cutter, then Paradigm Shift and covers, but Naito kicks out at 2.5!!! Naito chants from the crowd!!! Mox goes for Paradigm Shift again, but Naito escapes and lands Destino!! Cover! Mox kicks out at 2.5!!!! Naito goes for Destino again, Mox blocks it and lands two strong elbows, then lands a second Paradigm Shift and covers. Naito kicks out again at 2.5!!!! Mox pulls Naito back up, then puts him down hard with a huge lariat and covers, but Naito kicks out at one!!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!! Mox lands a high angle Death Rider!! Cover! 1, 2, 3!!!

Wtffffffffff!!#^#^#($*!@%@$#<$>!!!!!!!!!! I could literally throw up at the sight of Moxley pinning Naito and holding that title. Disgusting. Wtf is the plan?? He doesn't work for this company?? Why does this stupid shit always happen at Naito's expense???? It's hard for me to even talk about the match. It was a fantastic match. But what else does anyone expect from the man himself, big match Tetsuya Naito? Naito makes every main event feel big and important, and this was no different. Moxley works Naito's knees and Naito works the neck to set up Destino. Some great spots throughout, and a great build to the dramatic, back and forth finish. Naito gave Moxley a moment he should be kissing Naito's boots for. Rating: 4.25

You deserve it chants after the match. Fuck that. Moxley says this was a treat for everyone who may not get the chance to fly across the ocean to see a New Japan show. Moxley says he is just getting started, and his first order of business is to pick who is coming at him first. He calls the shots now. He says he has beaten a lot of Japanese legends in the last five years, but he isn't going to back down from the young lions. He calls out Shota Umino. But he then gets attacked from behind by Ren Narita, who grabs the mic and says he will be the next challenger. Umino comes out to save Moxley. Moxley says Narita just graduated from behind a young boy to being a dead man.

I guess Moxley putting over Umino with their history and all could save this garbage. But why couldn't Umino just be the one to go over Naito later on this year or something? Why do we need to involve Moxley? Do they think this increases American viewership? I don't understand. Someone help me understand.

[joearlikelikeswrestling]